One of the most significant international competitions for Indian athletes this year is the Asian Athletics Championships 2023 (AAC 2023), which has started in Bangkok and will continue till July 15. The competition will serve as a qualifier for the 2023 World Championships as well as aid Indian athletes in their preparation for the Asian Games, which starts in late September 2023.
Neeraj Chopra, who won the gold in Javelin at the Tokyo Olympics, will not be participating in the AAC 2023 as he is recovering from an injury. However, several star athletes and sportspersons will be a part of the Indian contingent to Bangkok. The performance of world-class long-jumper Murali Sreeshankar is going to be a feast for the eyes, for sure.
The absence of the triple jumper Praveen Chithravel and the champion javelin thrower Rohit Yadav is also likely to have an effect on India’s performance at the major sporting event. In order to compete for a medal at the competition, Sreeshankar will try to improve on his previous best of 8.36 metres. His greatest challengers will be the current world champion Zhang Guowei of China and Yuki Hashioka of Japan, who won the gold medal at the 2022 Asian Indoor Championships.
Other Indian competitors who could contend for medals include 400-meter world junior champion Hima Das and 3000-meter steeplechase national record holder Avinash Sable. Das will try to improve upon her previous record of 50.79 seconds in order to compete for the gold. Sable will want to improve upon his previous best time of 8:12.48 seconds in order to compete for his first medal on the world stage.
A few athletes, notably Rohit and Praveen, withdrew from the contest after the lineups were made public, citing injuries. There have also been a few instances of doping recorded. Shot putter Karanveer was dismissed from the squad after testing positive for drugs during a non-competitive test. The 25-year-old is Asia’s sixth-best shot putter this year. After testing positive for forbidden substances, two more Indian team members—a sprinter and a quarter-miler—have not yet departed for Thailand.
Indian athletes will get a great opportunity to compete against some of Asia’s best athletes and determine their ranking in the world in the Asian Athletics Championships. The mega sporting extravaganza will present the Indian team with a chance to pick up speed ahead of the Asian Games and the World Championships, later in the year.
It is very likely that the Indian contingent will bring home a significant haul of medals from the Asian Athletics Championships because it comprises many talented athletes in the ranks. It all depends on their performances, fitness, and a bit of luck on D-days.
All said and done, the Indian contingent has started shining from day 1. While Abhishek Pal won the first medal in the form of a Bronze on the first day in 10000m, and Jyothi Yarraji bagged India’s first Gold in Women’s 100m Hurdles! All eyes are on the upcoming events on the third day of the event!